Mismatched Fantasy
by Toni42
Summary: Hiding a pig in a foster home, as Jesse was rather quick to find out, was really, really hard. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad. (Day One of the Tumblr MCSM AU July Countdown one-shots.)


_**Day One:** **Modern AU**_

 **Mismatched Fantasy**

Hiding a pig in a foster home, as Jesse was rather quick to find out, was really, _really_ hard.

Of course, this didn't stop them. Reuben had been with them since before the accident, and they were damn well going to keep it that way afterwards. Even if they had to stuff him into a backpack and sneak him carrots to keep him quiet from where they were seated in the back of a particularly chatty social workers' car.

"Oh, you'll be very happy in this home, Jesse," they'd assured them for the fourth time, "You'll be going to a nice school in a wonderful neighbourhood. Your new foster mother is very excited to meet you."

She hadn't been _excited_ , exactly; not that Jesse could really blame her. When the social worker had led them inside (and he'd hastily covered Reuben's snuffling with a cough), she'd had her arms full with young children. She'd only had enough time to greet him with a smile and direct him to his room upstairs before she was pulled away to deal with a screaming toddler.

The social worker didn't leave until they'd found their room. They wished them good luck, and then Jesse was left sitting alone on their new bed, at a complete loss as to what to do with themselves. There was a second bed across from them, the blankets rumpled and unkempt; obviously slept in. That meant they had a roommate.

Jesse _seriously_ hoped they liked pigs. And could keep a secret. And weren't a jerk.

They really hoped they weren't a jerk.

Their backpack jerked, falling over next to them. Reuben tumbled out in a heap of pink, nose twitching as he took in his new surroundings. Jesse smiled at him, but it came off weak; they weren't sure if they could hide him. It all depended on their roommate, when it came down to it (immediately, at least), and that terrified them a lot more than they'd like to admit.

This all terrified them.

The door opened. Jesse leapt to their feet, heart lodging itself into their throat, blocking Reuben from sight. The girl's eyes were glued to her phone- she seemed to be in the middle of a game- but paused in the doorway when she realised the room wasn't empty.

Her phone sang a remorseful tune, signifying her digital death. Jesse stared, shocked. Because they knew this girl. Because this was the girl who was constantly challenging them to a race. Because this was the girl who hung out with them even though they were sure she could find someone better.

In their new foster home. In their new bedroom.

Most probably their new roommate.

"Petra?" Jesse said, finally. Petra blinked at them slowly, game completely forgotten.

"Jesse?" she frowned, "What are you doing here?"

They opened their mouth, but an answer didn't come. Thankfully, Petra seemed to realise that the question wasn't a particularly _smart_ one, for she winced and slipped her phone into her one of the pockets stitched into her shorts.

"Sorry. Dumb questions."

"It's fine," Jesse murmured automatically. This was _Petra,_ after all. Simply talking to losers like them and their friends was an amazement that still had them gaping at her.

Reuben sneezed. Loudly.

The two not-quite-friends stared at each other. Petra raised an eyebrow. Jesse's cheeks dusted pink. Hesitantly (because maybe Petra was fine with _them_ having a pig, but if this was her room than there was a likely chance she wouldn't be all that happy about it, and _dammit_ Jesse had no idea where they were meant to keep him if not here), Jesse stepped aside, their little pig cocking his head as he finally registered Petra's presence.

The redhead stared a moment longer. She glanced over her shoulder, out into the hall, as though to make sure no one was there. Then she slid further into the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Jenny doesn't like pets," she informed them, as though they weren't already aware of this, "Hope you can keep him quiet."

"He'll be quiet," Jesse hastily assured, slumping in relief when she didn't go running to their foster mother (their as in _both of their_ foster mother; that was a strange thought).

An awkward silence came upon them. Petra frowned at the far wall, as though there was something particularly worrying about it. Jesse nervously shuffled their feet, before deciding sitting back down on the bed was the best idea. Reuben was in the current process of inspecting their pillow.

Finally, Petra seemed to snap out of whatever state she'd fallen into, tearing her eyes from the wall. She glanced at them, before making her way over to her own bed, shoving the sheets aside to collapse on top of it. She glanced at Jesse again.

"So," she said, slowly, "Guess we're roommates."

Jesse shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant; it came off as nervous and awkward instead, "Looks like it. Does… Does that… bother you?"

Petra snorted, lips twitching, "Of course it doesn't, Jesse. I'd rather have you than some stranger, anyway," her eyes darted over to Reuben; he'd decided the pillow was now his and had curled up on top of it, "Besides, he's bound to make things a bit more interesting around here."

They shot her a smile; the first honestly genuine one they'd been able to muster in a long time, "Thanks, Petra."

"Anytime, Jesse."

They glanced away, fiddling nervously with their sleeve. The terror that had come with them smuggling in Reuben had been stifled, at least; having Petra as a roommate had not been something they'd been expecting, but it was most certainly welcome. A familiar face in a strange place and all that. Someone they could rely on. It was comforting.

"Does… this mean I'll still be going to school with Axel and Olivia?"

Petra paused. She raised her eyebrows. "They tell you otherwise?"

"Social worker mentioned a nice school."

"Huh," she seemed to think for a moment; shrugged, "Well, _I_ go there, so I don't really see any reason as to why you wouldn't, especially if you're already enrolled," her face softened, "We've been worried about you. Haven't heard from you all weekend."

Jesse winced, "Oh. Uh… my- my phone was broken."

"Ah," a brief silence. As though she were debating whether or not she should ask. "How'd it break?"

 _Screaming, screaming, glass shattering, the device flying from his hand and disappearing in the chaos, his whole word tumbling and tumbling and tumbling-_

"Accident."

"Oh."

The awkward silence returned with a vengeance. Jesse shifted on the bed, then swallowed, taking a few moments to work up the courage to break it.

"You… You won't tell anyone about Reuben, will you?"

Petra turned to look at them again; shot them a reassuring smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Of course not. It's Reuben."

Jesse's cheeks flushed slightly, a guilty pang hitting their chest for doubting her. This was _Petra_ , dammit. They could trust Petra.

Suddenly, the girl snorted.

"To be honest," she said, "If you _are_ , for some reason, going to a different school, I think we'd all drag you back to our one. I mean, do you realise how lost Radar would be? He'd have no one to follow around like a love-struck puppy."

Jesse snorted as well, "Yeah, he's… eccentric."

"In a good way."

Jesse's lips twitched upwards, "In a good way."

"Then there's Romeo," Petra continued, ignoring their wince at the mention of him, "Guy gives me the creeps, but he wouldn't let you go to a different school than him, that's for sure. He's hellbent on either being your bestie or your mortal enemy."

"So, what do you think he'd do?" Jesse asked, a tad hesitantly (a part of him didn't really want to know), "Drag me back to the old one or force himself into the student body of the new one?"

Petra chuckled, "Both are equally terrifying."

"I'll say."

"And I don't think Cassie would be able to go a day without glaring at you from across the room," the redhead declared, "She's planning your murder, I swear."

"Can we _please_ not talk about Cassie?"

Petra's grin widened, "Why? She scare you?"

"Incredibly."

The redhead laughed; Jesse wasn't sure whether or not they should be insulted, "Okay, fair enough. She _is_ pretty creepy. What about Lukas, Axel and Olivia?"

Jesse hummed, "They'd still visit me outside of school. Or kidnap me. Whichever comes first. Lukas would protest, but he'd go through with it anyway."

Petra chuckled, "Think Jack and Nurm would help?"

"Maybe?"

"Oh, please. Pretty sure Jack's proclaimed himself as your big brother."

Jesse blinked, cheeks colouring, "I don't- He wouldn't-"

"Yeah," Petra chuckled, obviously taking pleasure in their embarrassment (curse her), "He'd probably be the one to suggest kidnapping. Hey, do you think Ivor's gonna adopt you?"

Jesse gaped, brain spinning at the sudden change of topic. Their cheeks reddened further. "Why- I- I don't think he'd-"

"Probably only a matter of time," Petra shrugged, tucking her arms behind her head as a makeshift pillow; her real one was somewhere in the tangle of blankets, somehow, "We should all just buy a big house and live there together."

She sounded almost… wistful. Her smile slipped from amused to something a bit more heart-tugging. As though the lot of them just piling together into a big house was something she wished would actually happen. With Ivor and, heck, the rest of the teachers (who were always there, who they'd playfully dubbed the Order of the Stone, who'd declared them the next generation of it) acting as _parents_ , with Axel and Olivia and Lukas and Petra as their _siblings_ , and Jack and Nurm as their _big brothers_ and Radar, running around with that beaming smile and his notebook, their _little brother_. And maybe Stella would be there, a cousin they didn't like until they looked just a little deeper, and Cassie would probably be dragged in by Soren because he'd claimed both her and Lukas, and Harper would be there too, wearing that little smile she always wore whenever Ivor was spluttering and stumbling over his words simply due to her presence. And there'd be smiles and laughter and stupid fights they'd forget about the next day and silly problems that would always end alright because, in the end, they would have each other.

Like one big, mismatched family.

Jesse's chest hurt. They looked away, blinking away the tears that had sprung to their eyes. Petra didn't seem to notice; she was still lost in that wistful little fantasy.

But that was all it was. A fantasy. A stupid little fantasy that would never come true.

Because nothing ever really went right when it came to Jesse.

They had the accident to prove it.

* * *

 **Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Everyone else is on Day Nine and I honestly didn't actually plan to do this at all. I just felt like it all of a sudden. No idea if I'll finish or not, just writing at my own pace, yadda yadda yadda. An excuse to use my new AO3 account, I guess, since all my other stories are right in the middle and I have no idea what I did with the beginning documents (seriously, I can't find them and that annoys me). Soooooo have this little one-shot thingy-ma-jig.**

 **Also posted on Tumblr under _toni4eyes_ and Archive Of Our Own under _Toni_Logophile._**


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